Red Ruffing
Charles Herbert "Red" Ruffing (May 3 1905 - February 17 1986) was a Major League Baseball pitcher most remembered for his time with the highly successful New York Yankees teams of the 1930s and 1940s. Major League Career Born in Granville, Illinois, Ruffing suffered the loss of four toes on his left foot in a freak mine accident (in Coalton, Illinois) as a youth. Subsequently transformed from an outfielder to a pitcher, Ruffing made his major league debut in with the Boston Red Sox, pitching without a decision over 23 innings of work. He saw regular playing time with the Sox over the next few years but had limited success. His best year, in terms of earned run performance, came in , when he posted a respectable 3.89 ERA; however, he also received abysmal offensive support and consequently suffered 25 losses to only 10 wins. Ruffing led the American League with 25 complete games in 1929 while pitching for the Red Sox. Ruffing's career was renewed by a mid-season trade in which sent him to the New York Yankees. Buoyed by the offensive production of greats Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, he won 15 games after the trade despite a hefty 4.14 ERA. Ruffing eventually turned into an ace, winning 20 games or more four times in a row from to , and striking out a league high 190 batters in . He regularly contended for the ERA crown, twice posting ERAs under 3.00, and appeared in seven World Series, won six (1932, 1936-1939 and 1941), and posted a 7-2 career post-season record with a 2.63 ERA. Whitey Ford surpassed Ruffing with 236 wins for the Yankees, but Ruffing still holds the Yankee record of 232 wins by a righthanded pitcher. On August 13 1932, Red Ruffing threw a complete-game shutout and hit a 10th inning home run off Washington Senators pitcher Al Thomas to give the New York Yankees a 1-0 victory. (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/R/Ruffing_Red.stm). Although Ruffing was not the first to achieve the feat, through the 2006 season, no Major League pitcher has since thrown a complete game shutout and hit a home run in a 1-0 game. This feat also means that he was responsible for BOTH of the scores on the scoreboard in the victory. Ruffing is one of only three pitchers in Major League history to win a game 1-0, hit a home run in the game, and strike out 10 or more batters. The others are Early Wynn, who achieved the feat in 1957, and Yovani Gallardo, who did it in 2009. After missing the and seasons due to the war, Ruffing was unable to regain his ace material upon returning in . After moving to the Chicago White Sox in , he retired. He finished his career with 273 wins, 225 losses, 1987 strikeouts and a 3.80 ERA. Ruffing was also an accomplished hitter, hitting 36 home runs and batting .269 in 1937 career at-bats. Ruffing set a record for pitchers with 8 .300 seasons as a batter. Ruffing holds the New York Yankee record with 232 wins by a righthanded pitcher - and is 2nd on the all-time Yankee list to lefthander Whitey Ford (236). Ruffing was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in by the BBWAA, after several near-misses, in a run-off election, defeating Joe Medwick. Red Ruffing was the first pitcher since Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1938 to be the only candidate elected in a BBWAA election. A few years later, Ruffing suffered a serious stroke and was confined to a wheelchair - but he continued making annual trips to Cooperstown. At an Old Timers Day Ceremony on July 10, , the Yankees dedicated a plaque in his memory to hang in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. His plaque was transfered to the new Yankee Stadium in 2009. A museum in Nokomis, Illinois is dedicated to Ruffing and other Hall of Famers Ray Schalk and Jim Bottomley. See also *All-Time leaders in Home runs for a Pitcher *Top 100 winning pitchers of all time *List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins *List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions *List of Major League Baseball wins champions *Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time *MLB all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers *Chicago White Sox all-time roster External links * * *The Deadball Era *http://www.nokomisonline.com/brs.html Category:1905 births Category:1986 deaths Category:Hall of Fame Category:1932 New York Yankees World Series Championship Team Category:1936 New York Yankees World Series Championship Team Category:1937 New York Yankees World Series Championship Team Category:1938 New York Yankees World Series Championship Team Category:1939 New York Yankees World Series Championship Team Category:1941 New York Yankees World Series Championship Team Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:Chicago White Sox players Category:New York Yankees players Category:American League All-Stars Category:American League strikeout champions Category:American League wins champions Category:Major League Baseball players from Illinois Category:Starting Pitchers Category:Players